Welcome back to Education Today. In Miami, after initially banning AI chatbots, Miami-Dade County Public Schools is now leading the charge in classroom AI. Over 1,000 educators have trained on new tools, and more than 105,000 high schoolers are using Google’s Gemini. Social studies teacher Tracy Lowd had students prompt Gemini: “Act like President Kennedy. What was the new frontier?” Teens called the result “awkward” but credible. “It did a very good job of impersonating J.F.K.,” said 17-year-old Ashley Acedo. The district vetted multiple A.I. platforms, with instructional technologist Jeannette Tejeda explaining, “We were tasked with trying to break A.I.” They chose Gemini for its privacy and content guardrails, then launched “the A.I. Institute” to teach 17,000 teachers. As Tejeda reminds them, “You as the teacher … have to be that final barrier.” English teacher Maria Chirino uses the chatbot for instant essay feedback, while still grading final drafts. Assistant superintendent Daniel Mateo calls A.I. “just another tool in the arsenal of education,” and Principal Jorge Bulnes adds, “We have an obligation to help them navigate that usage.” Stay tuned for more on how AI is reshaping our schools.
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